Not everything in this life is what it seems. You or I might assume that Big Brother Watch is a harmless group of individuals collectively dedicated to the regular consumption of achingly tedious reality TV. But that’s where we’d be very very wrong.
Big Brother Watch are in fact a bunch of troublemakers bent of carping endlessly over every new application of the kind of surveillance technology from which anyone who is not breaking the law, avoiding paying for something, or generally not doing what they are supposed to be doing, has absolutely nothing to fear.
The latest bee in BBW’s hyperneurotic bonnet is that 54 CCTV Smart Cars operated by 31 local councils across Britain caught and fined 188,000 motorists between April 2009 and March 2010.
Each car supposedly generates £187,000 per year – more than even Britain’s most profitable ice cream van.
“It is surely only a matter of time,” claims BBW campaign director Dylan Sharpe, “before more councils start using these cars.”
“The vehicles are sent out to catch people and make money, with road safety only an afterthought. The Coalition Government must act now to prevent a dangerous escalation,” warned Dylan.
“Time for bed,” said Zebidee.
